Our First Draft is about getting you to write yours.

India is full of storytellers. But too often, their stories go untold due to a lack
of training, exposure and opportunity. At AIB, we believe that nothing should hold
back a talented writer willing to work hard.

That's why we started First Draft, India's most intensive screenwriting bootcamp in
Mumbai. In its first edition in 2016, 10 writers from across the country got to
attend lectures, interact with top industry professionals, learn the skills
essential to screenwriting and leave with their own first draft of a movie or series
– with all expenses covered by AIB.

And First Draft is back in 2018!

We think this is the best opportunity in the country for an aspiring writer. Here’s why:

There is no fee. AIB will bear all tuition expenses. (Because we’re nice like
that.)

We’ll give you a place to stay. You won’t have to hunt for a flat in Mumbai.
(Even though
that makes for good horror stories.)

We'll also pay you a stipend to take care of your food, auto fare and the
occasional visit to a pub or cafe.

Genre no bar. Just because it’s AIB doesn’t mean this is restricted to comedy
writers. You
can write drama, romance, horror, thriller, action or a genre that’s purely
yours

Some of the best industry professionals will not just train you but also mentor
your
writing process by providing you with constructive feedback.

It’s a small batch, so each session will be focused and personal. Your story
deserves it.

If we see potential in your script, there’s a good chance we may produce it.

This is the course of action.

AIB First Draft is an intensive course. Beginning March 2018, we’re going to pack
six months
of your life with 200 plus hours of lectures aside from film screenings,
discussions, workshops,
set visits, and reviews. You’ll spend any remaining hours staring at your Word
document, tearing
your hair out, buckling down, and writing.

Over the course of this time, your mentor will guide you through the processes of
ideation,
character development, story development, plotting, structure, scene design,
dialogue-writing –
the works. You’ll leave knowing the basics of film appreciation, filmmaking, and
film and TV
history as well.

Top industry professionals
will step in as guest lecturers to lend you their
expertise on various aspects of storytelling (so this is your chance to not only
learn from the
who’s who of the writing world, but also to impress them). Through the course,
you’ll get critical
and constructive feedback from your mentor on your story at every step. But more
importantly,
you’ll walk away with the support and feedback of your 9 classmates.

Six months later, you will have a first draft of your script.

Meet your mentor, Satyanshu Singh.

This National Award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, professor of cinema will be
your captain,
boss, creative guru and everything in between.

An MBBS from AFMC - Pune, Satyanshu gave up his job as a doctor in the army and came
to
Mumbai. Here, he started his career with the poems in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan
and
continued to work as a screenwriter and lyricist for films and TV. His directorial
debut, a
Kashmiri short film – Tamaash, won awards the world over, including a National Film
Award.
Satyanshu’s love for writing is only equalled by his love for teaching. Since 2011,
he has taught
cinema at Mumbai University, conducted screenwriting workshops, and designed the
filmwriting
course at Anupam Kher's school, 'Actor Prepares', where he taught five batches
between
2014-15.

Through the course of First Draft, Satyanshu will be spending over 20 hours a week
with you, helping you write your own scripts. There are few better initiations into
the craft of storytelling available in the country today.

You could apply if you’re any or many of the following.
A closet writer.
A nobody writer from nowhere, willing to work hard and make it in
the industry.
Someone who used to enjoy writing, but is now at a corporate job,
looking for a reason to quit.
Someone who writes for clients but wants to write for
themselves.
Someone who watched a kickass show and wished they’d come up with
that plot.
Someone with a head full of characters but a Word doc. without
words.
Someone who took a Facebook aptitude test, which said "You’re most
suited to be a writer." (Actually, no, not you.)
So basically, anyone. In fact, you need not already be a writer.
We’re looking out for first timers as well.

Anyone who can only spare a month or two.
Anyone who wants to do the course part-time.
Anyone who doesn’t want to write but just wants to work at AIB. (For
that email careers@allindiabakchod.in)
Anyone who just wants to come to Bombay for fun. This course is
serious business.
So basically, anyone who doesn’t care about learning how to tell a
story.

Just go to the Application section on the
website and register with
your email address. Once registered, you can view the assignment
questionnaire. You will have 10 days to submit your completed
assignment. Last date to get the questionnaire is 5th December
2017.

Once all the applications are in, the best ones will be chosen by
our mentors and professors. If selected, you will be notified via
email or phone by mid-January 2018. If you don’t hear from us, it
means you did not make the cut. We’re expecting a heavy traffic of
applicants, so we might not be able to give you individual feedback
on your test. Sorry about that.
When we’ve shortlisted, Team AIB will fly down to cities around
India to personally meet our candidates. We’ll get to know them
through a round of interviews, and then we’ll select our 10
students. The programme will start in March 2018.

Good question. You won’t be attending lectures every day but this
course demands a lot of discipline and hard work. It is imperative
that you make your time in Mumbai count. We’re trying hard to provide
you with the best of opportunities and facilities. We’re investing
our time and money in you. So slacking is a punishable offence. You
could actually be booted out of the programme.

This is strictly a residential program. The students, including any
from Mumbai, will share the accommodation provided by us. Don’t
expect a swanky fancy bungalow (for that try
mtvindia.com/splitsvilla).
But don’t expect to be living in rat
infested squalor either. We’ll get you a place that’s comfortable
for those 6 months.

Once you have a first draft of your movie/web series screenplay
ready, we will evaluate the ones with the most potential. The scripts
that show the most promise will have a chance to be produced by AIB.
And of course, you’ll get full fees as a writer on the production
along with credit for it. If we don’t see potential in the script,
we’ll pass. So at the very least you’ll have a movie script, a bunch
of industry contacts and most importantly - you’ll be trained as a
writer. If all goes well, each and every writer will have enough
employment opportunities in TV, film or web by the end of the course.
Not bad, eh?

We’ve always wanted to start a school – this is a first step towards
it. We get to meet and groom a whole bunch of awesome writers and in
our very small way, give back to the creative industry. And we have
the potential to produce great content. It’s a win-win
situation.